Westinghouse Signs Contract for Design of Kozloduy Repository

27 Oct 2011

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BRUSSELS, Oct. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Westinghouse Electric Company today announces the signing of a multi-million dollar contract to design the Low and Intermediate Level Waste Repository at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant site in Bulgaria. The contract was signed by a consortium comprised of Spanish waste management company ENRESA, Westinghouse Electric Spain (WES) and DBE Technology. The customer for the work is SERAW, the Bulgarian State Enterprise with responsibility for the country's radioactive waste, under an agreement between SERAW and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Westinghouse Electric Spain led the bid, based on the company's experience on the "El Cabril" project (the Spanish low and intermediate level repository), which was designed by WES in the 1980s. This project at Kozloduy represents the first opportunity for ENRESA and Westinghouse to take advantage of that unique technical and operational experience in a market outside Spain. This proven experience meant that our offer obtained the best technical and commercial score in the bidding process.

The Decommissioning & Dismantling and Waste Management (D&D & WM) division of Westinghouse has been working across Europe for more than 20 years. Over that period Westinghouse has participated in D&D projects including those at the Vandellos I NPP, El Cabril, Mochovce, Chooz A, CIEMAT restoration,ISPRA, La Latina, Zorita NPP and Sellafield.

"This success today comes at the end of a long and difficult road, where our in-depth experience in D&D and Waste Management helped us to overcome many obstacles. Jointly with our partners, ENRESA and DBE, we have the know-how, we have the right people and we are more than willing to prepare an outstanding, environmentally-friendly solution for the Bulgarian Low and Intermediate Radioactive Waste project. In addition, this contract further demonstrates Westinghouse's commitment to the Bulgarian nuclear market, which we continue to see as very important."

Westinghouse Electric Company, a group company of Toshiba Corporation, is the world's pioneering nuclear power company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to utilities throughout the world.

Westinghouse supplied the world's first PWR in 1957 in Shippingport, Pennsylvania. Today, Westinghouse technology is the basis for approximately half of the world's operating nuclear plants.

The Westinghouse AP1000® reactor is close to final design certification by nuclear regulators in the US, and is one of two designs currently being assessed by UK regulators for potential new nuclear build in Britain. Contracts have been placed around the world for a total of ten AP1000 plants to date -- 4 in China and 6 in the US. The first plant, at Sanmen in China, is scheduled to produce electricity in 2013.